1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Split Second. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?” Split Second takes place in Manhattan, present day, on the 4th of July. The people involved in the story are Val Johnson, an African-American police officer; William H. Willis, an unsuccessful white car thief who Val shoots after Willis berates him; Parker and Charlie, Val’s fellow police officers; Alea Johnson, Val’s wife; and Rusty Johnson, Val’s father, a retired police officer from Pittsburgh. The dramatic situation that the characters find themselves in is that Val shot someone out of cold blood, claiming it was self-defense and changing many details in his story to support his lie. He must make the decision to confess the truth or keep the lie. The play unfolds as Val wrestles with whether he should tell the truth, with all the other characters adding their two cents about the situation, some of them knowing the true facts, and the others only the lies.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? Be careful when citing the intrusion, it may not be where you initially think it is. I believe that the intrusion happens when Val shoots Willis. This one act creates a ripple effect that continues throughout the play, and beyond the play as well. If this one event did not happen, the entire premise of the play would be nonexistence. I think that Val believes he can live with the lies he has told, but the longer it sits with him, the more of a hold the lies have on him. Through the multiple conversations he has throughout the play concerning Willis’s death, Val continues to be consumed by this decision. Rusty warns Alea that this will eat him alive, and the final words of the play are of Val feeling completely trapped by the lie he has told.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? The 4th of July is a holiday that celebrates the United States’ independence from Britain. America as a country represents freedom, and in the case of this play, Val must choose between a catch 22: be a “free man” and not go to prison, but be a prisoner of his guilt and conscience, or set his conscience free and liberated from his lie but ultimately face potential jail time.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.) “Should he tell the truth?”. “Could Val be justified for killing Willis?”.
5. Use Val to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what Val wants (NOTE: In Split Second the wants of Val are in flux and he is being swayed by his father, his wife, his friend, and his colleague at work. His wants seem to change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that the character encounters. In the very beginning of the play, Val faces off against another person, and at the same time himself. Obviously he is faced with the threat of whether or not Willis will be compliant or not, but then Val is faced with whether he will be bothered by Willis’s insults. The play continues with Val facing off against himself and his own conscience. He must decide to keep his lie, or confess the truth. 6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Split Second. The most theatrical moment is when Val shoots Willis on the stage, the shocking things Willis says leading up to that point.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Split Second. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”) The image of the gun represents that, as the title suggests, a life can change in just a split second decision. Val will never be the same, either he will face the harsh consequences of killing Willis in cold blood, or he will be consumed by the lie for the rest of his life. It took only a split second for Val to fire the gun and kill Willis. In one split second, Val snapped and he could take the racial slurs no more. The Vietnam war functions as a backdrop and parallel to the lives of the men on the police force. Val fought in the Vietnam war, and he says he never once had an accident with a gun while in Vietnam. As well, Willis was not the first person he ever killed, but he claims to have never seen who he killed because the jungle was dark, drawing a parallel to the darkness of that city street where Willis was shot. Val’s face at the very end of the play is symbolic of how he has sold his liberty to the lie he told about his brash decision. The play says, “the life goes out of him”.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Split Second. First, the theme of right and wrong is apparent in the play. Whether Val is “justified” for killing Willis after all the horrible offensive things Willis said to Val. Also, the question is asked whether Val should continue to lie and cover up the truth, or confess what truly happened. The good of society is something brought up during the play and we can ask the question whether it is better for society for a man like Willis to be eliminated, as is what Charlie argues to Val. As well, Rusty argues that it is better for African-American society that Val not to tell the truth about killing Willis. Rusty says that the police force will no longer allow black cops on the force.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Split Second? The most influential family relationship is the relationship between Val and his father. Val attributes the fact that he is a cop to how his father raised him. Val constantly witnessed the crime in the city and heard about it from his father. When Val was young, at Christmastime he received fingerprint kits and for his accomplishments fake medals and ribbons claiming that he had no choice but to be a cop, because Rusty raised him to be one. In the argument Val makes to Rusty against telling the truth, Val talks about how it would be throwing away his family, meaning Alea, if he confessed the truth. This adds to the dramatic action because it is a huge factor in what decision Val needs to make.
Split Second takes place in Manhattan, present day, on the 4th of July. The people involved in the story are Val Johnson, an African-American police officer; William H. Willis, an unsuccessful white car thief who Val shoots after Willis berates him; Parker and Charlie, Val’s fellow police officers; Alea Johnson, Val’s wife; and Rusty Johnson, Val’s father, a retired police officer from Pittsburgh. The dramatic situation that the characters find themselves in is that Val shot someone out of cold blood, claiming it was self-defense and changing many details in his story to support his lie. He must make the decision to confess the truth or keep the lie. The play unfolds as Val wrestles with whether he should tell the truth, with all the other characters adding their two cents about the situation, some of them knowing the true facts, and the others only the lies.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? Be careful when citing the intrusion, it may not be where you initially think it is.
I believe that the intrusion happens when Val shoots Willis. This one act creates a ripple effect that continues throughout the play, and beyond the play as well. If this one event did not happen, the entire premise of the play would be nonexistence. I think that Val believes he can live with the lies he has told, but the longer it sits with him, the more of a hold the lies have on him. Through the multiple conversations he has throughout the play concerning Willis’s death, Val continues to be consumed by this decision. Rusty warns Alea that this will eat him alive, and the final words of the play are of Val feeling completely trapped by the lie he has told.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The 4th of July is a holiday that celebrates the United States’ independence from Britain. America as a country represents freedom, and in the case of this play, Val must choose between a catch 22: be a “free man” and not go to prison, but be a prisoner of his guilt and conscience, or set his conscience free and liberated from his lie but ultimately face potential jail time.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
“Should he tell the truth?”. “Could Val be justified for killing Willis?”.
5. Use Val to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what Val wants (NOTE: In Split Second the wants of Val are in flux and he is being swayed by his father, his wife, his friend, and his colleague at work. His wants seem to change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that the character encounters.
In the very beginning of the play, Val faces off against another person, and at the same time himself. Obviously he is faced with the threat of whether or not Willis will be compliant or not, but then Val is faced with whether he will be bothered by Willis’s insults. The play continues with Val facing off against himself and his own conscience. He must decide to keep his lie, or confess the truth.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Split Second.
The most theatrical moment is when Val shoots Willis on the stage, the shocking things Willis says leading up to that point.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Split Second. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
The image of the gun represents that, as the title suggests, a life can change in just a split second decision. Val will never be the same, either he will face the harsh consequences of killing Willis in cold blood, or he will be consumed by the lie for the rest of his life. It took only a split second for Val to fire the gun and kill Willis. In one split second, Val snapped and he could take the racial slurs no more.
The Vietnam war functions as a backdrop and parallel to the lives of the men on the police force. Val fought in the Vietnam war, and he says he never once had an accident with a gun while in Vietnam. As well, Willis was not the first person he ever killed, but he claims to have never seen who he killed because the jungle was dark, drawing a parallel to the darkness of that city street where Willis was shot.
Val’s face at the very end of the play is symbolic of how he has sold his liberty to the lie he told about his brash decision. The play says, “the life goes out of him”.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Split Second.
First, the theme of right and wrong is apparent in the play. Whether Val is “justified” for killing Willis after all the horrible offensive things Willis said to Val. Also, the question is asked whether Val should continue to lie and cover up the truth, or confess what truly happened.
The good of society is something brought up during the play and we can ask the question whether it is better for society for a man like Willis to be eliminated, as is what Charlie argues to Val. As well, Rusty argues that it is better for African-American society that Val not to tell the truth about killing Willis. Rusty says that the police force will no longer allow black cops on the force.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Split Second?
The most influential family relationship is the relationship between Val and his father. Val attributes the fact that he is a cop to how his father raised him. Val constantly witnessed the crime in the city and heard about it from his father. When Val was young, at Christmastime he received fingerprint kits and for his accomplishments fake medals and ribbons claiming that he had no choice but to be a cop, because Rusty raised him to be one.
In the argument Val makes to Rusty against telling the truth, Val talks about how it would be throwing away his family, meaning Alea, if he confessed the truth. This adds to the dramatic action because it is a huge factor in what decision Val needs to make.